Starting ninth on the ensuing restart, Busch drove through the field and passed Tony Stewart at the finish line for the victory.

Everything fell into place for Busch, who won the race by 13-thousandths of a second over Stewart.

But instead of being an indicator of things to come, it was more of an anomaly. Busch rarely had everything go his way the rest of the season. He missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup and ended 13th in the final Cup standings.

“It was a great start,” Busch said. “We had a couple of new sponsors that came on board last year. … The first race out of the gate, we’re in victory circle spraying Monster everywhere. It was really, really good for the M&M’s team and everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“From there, it really didn’t get much better.”

The preseason race at Daytona International Speedway has changed names to the Sprint Unlimited. It has a new format, with fans opting for a 75-lap featuring three segments — 30 laps, 25 laps and 20 laps.

Fans also will decide whether drivers make a pit stop between the first and second segments and if any of the drivers in the back of the 19-car field will be eliminated after the second segment.

The event kicks off Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, culminating with the Feb. 24 season-opening Daytona 500.

But as Busch can attest, Speedweeks and the Daytona 500 aren’t always signs of how the rest of the season will go. His brother, Kurt Busch, won the Shootout in 2011 and found himself looking for a job by the following December.

Kyle has more stability, having just re-signed with Joe Gibbs Racing for several more years but hopes that more things fall into place like they did in the race last year.

Considered a championship contender going into the season and with his driving ability celebrated after that preseason win, Busch won just one Cup race, at Richmond in April, in 2012. He was having a decent year before he suffered three engine failures and then saw a potential win slip away on a crazy final lap on an oil-slicked track at Watkins Glen.

“After the three engine failures we had at Dover, Pocono and Michigan, we just never really got back on track, never really made it back towards the front where we needed to be to solidly be in the Chase,” Busch said. “It was a frustrating year. We missed the Chase come Richmond time.

“From there on out, we just said, ‘We’ve got to work hard, we’ve got to do the best we can, and try to end the year on a high note.’ I felt like we did a really good job of that in finishing the lat 10 races off strong.”

Busch hasn’t totally put everything behind him. The Watkins Glen loss, missing the Chase and then a Dover race where he dominated but had to pit late — and then ripped Toyota engineers on his in-car radio — still bother him.

“Watkins Glen last year sticks with me,” Busch said. “(Missing the Chase at) Richmond still sticks with me. Dover of last year, short on fuel and had to pit with seven (laps) go.

“You just try to understand and think of ways that you can do better in those situations to not have those issues arise again.”

He hopes he has more situations like last year’s preseason race. Well, sort of.

“It was odd (the way) the race was shaping up to be,” Busch said. “I thought we were in a really good position to win the thing. Having the second spin (after Gordon’s tap), I thought, ‘Our race is over, we’re not going to be able to get it now.’

“Tony and I restarted in the back and tagged up together and went to the front. I dumped him off at the pit road entry and was able to beat him to the checkered. It was cool. I wouldn’t recommend trying to win it like that again, but if it comes down to it, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”